Seductive comfort
by Rhaegal Nymeria Stark
Summary: Sequel to "Agamemnon's dilemma," "Artemis's jape," "Surreal" and "Scarred Lover." Takes place before "Ill met by moonlight." Hermione forgives every torture that Bellatrix inflicted on her. However, Bella's having a hard time forgiving herself-so Hermione may just have to…..improvise. (Serious M rating here) Serious Bellamione, obviously


Disclaimer: Own nothing

Sequel to "Agamemnon's dilemma," "Artemis's jape," "Surreal" and "Scarred Lover." Takes place before "Ill met by moonlight." Hermione forgives every torture that Bellatrix inflicted on her. However, Bella's having a hard time forgiving herself-so Hermione may just have to…..improvise. (Serious M rating here)

Warning: Rated M for a reason. No flames please.

**Seductive comfort:**

Hermione's eyes went wide open at the sound of a terrible scream ripping through the darkness of the house. The young witch jumped up from the dark green velvet lounge chair she had been reading in. The book that she had been reading before slowly falling asleep due to exhaustion fell to the floor, letting a violent "thunking" noise fill the witch's ears as she turned and ran up the stairs to where Bellatrix was having a nightmare.

She heard her lover scream again, her ragged voice piercing Hermione's eardrums. Hermione got to the top of the stairs and ran into her and her lover's room.

Hermione bolted into their bedroom, twisting the knob of the door handle, crafted from round, smooth glass furiously, forcing the door open. As the brilliant witch got inside the room her terrified eyes took in the god awful sight of Bellatrix Black convulsing in their large king sized bed, her body that was clothed in an almost see through ebony nightdress, arched off the mattress, upper torso thrashing, sobs being pulled from her throat, eyelids squeezing down harder, even if the dark haired woman already was asleep.

Tears were coming out of Bellatrix's eyes. The salty liquid was dripping down her cheeks and onto her neck. "I'm sorry," Bellatrix whimpered, "Leave her alone! No, I'm sorry, stop! Leave her alone, monster! Monster! Hermione!"

Hermione scrambled to the side of the bed, crawling on top of it and placing both her hands on Bellatrix's face, cupping it tenderly. "Bella!" She cried, "Bella, wake up!" The muggle-born shifted her weight so that she was sitting on the bed and she brought her arms down to Bellatrix's waist, hoisting the pureblood up so that the pureblood was thrashing upwards now as the muggle-born held her.

"Bella," She cried, shaking the black haired witch in her grasp, "It's me! It's your Hermione! Wake up!"

Bellatrix awoke suddenly, her eyelids snapping open, dark eyes looking at her lover, shock and bewilderment covering her face.

"Hermione?" She asked, shocked.

"It's alright," Hermione cried, tears welling up in her eyes, "It's alright. It was just another nightmare." She moved to give Bella some room, letting the dark witch sit more upwards on the bed and released her lover's waist. Bellatrix worked to get away from Hermione, what little Hermione could see of Bellatrix's face through her gleaming ebony hair covering it was an intense mask of terror and dread as she looked at her bushy-haired lover.

"Bella?" Hermione asked again, eyebrows furrowed in concern, now suddenly hurt at Bella's reaction, "Are…..are you okay?"

Bellatrix looked scared, glancing around the room frantically, as if trying to find a way out or to see if there was someplace she could run to.

"Bella," Hermione whimpered, heart breaking at the sight, "What is it? What happened?"

Bellatrix shook, black hair trembling past her shoulders and away from her face, allowing Hermione to get a better look at her. The dark witch whispered, "I just kept cutting, and cutting, and you kept screaming….and I wouldn't stop. I just wouldn't stop."

Hermione's eyes widened, heart nearly stopping at that. The torture at Malfoy Manor? Was that what Bella had been having a nightmare about? She was guilty? "Bella, no, it's okay," Hermione whimpered, creeping closer, reaching out for her lover to embrace and comfort her, "I forgive you. Okay? I forgive you."

But as Hermione's arms were about to wrap around the dark witch, Bellatrix recoiled. "Stay back!" She hissed, "Stay back! I'll just torture you again if you come closer."

Hermione looked at Bellatrix calmly and made sure she had a firm tone in her voice as she spoke, not wanting to let her shock show, "You will not, Bella. We both know that. Don't be afraid. You've changed. You know what remorse is like now, and feel sorry for what you've done. I know you won't hurt me ever again, even if you don't believe it."

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed. "Confident, aren't you?" She spoke dryly, "Then again, with all you've been through, I guess you can't help but be, correct? Being one of the heroes of the witch and wizarding world clearly has gone to your head, hasn't it, dearie?"

Her voice turned hard and her eyes darkened and for a moment, she looked like the Death Eater that Hermione met back in the battlefield at the Department of Mysteries, but the muggle-born wasn't fooled.

"Look out for yourself you naive girl," Bellatrix growled cynically, "Have you forgotten who I am? I'm the same Death Eater that held you to the floor of Malfoy Manor and carved that word into your arm without any guilt whatsoever. I'm the same Death Eater that ripped your back open and left it in bloody tatters."

Hermione breathed out, closing her eyes and her right hand traveled to her left arm, fingers brushing over the engraved letters carved into her flesh from what felt like ages ago.

As she pressed her fingers against the wounds, Hermione opened her eyes, contemplating Bella's self-condemning words. The former Death Eater _was_ wrong of course. She was wrong about so many things. Bellatrix wasn't the same person as the hatred filled woman who had sliced the degrading word into her arm that day, she wasn't. She had changed.

Hermione stared her dark lover down, a confident look that matched Bella's own met the ebony-haired witch's gaze as the brown-haired woman spoke, "No guilt? What about now? And you are _not_ the same Death Eater that did that to me." Hermione scooted closer towards the now nervous former Death Eater, "After all, you're having nightmares about the injustice you did to me at Malfoy Manor. Tell me, Bella, would the Death Eater that you once were have had any nightmares about what she did to me?"

The question wasn't really a question, and both women knew that, because both women knew the answer.

Oh Merlin, did Hermione know that answer. The old Bellatrix that she had known back during the war-the Bellatrix that had tortured her, would never in a million years have had any nightmares about Hermione. At least, not any nightmare that involved remorse for inflicting those tortures upon the muggle-born.

"We both know that I wouldn't have." Bellatrix said angrily, though Hermione was pretty sure that the dark witch was only angry at herself, "I could never feel any guilt about hurting a muggle-born, not back then I couldn't have, at least."

Hermione nodded, smiling. "I know that," She whispered tenderly, "See? That's what I mean. You were a different person back then. You've changed and the fact that you had a nightmare about me, and apologizing about what happened to me only proves it. Because as you said, we both know that the old Bellatrix would never have had any guilty nightmares about me, not in a thousand years. Not till I came along anyway."

Hermione knew that she was being somewhat arrogant by saying that. But it was true. She had been the one that had worked to help Bellatrix; had done everything in her power to find out more about the dark woman and upon learning about the abuse that she had had to endure, sacrificed strength, body and sanity to protect the older woman from her demons.

That had been what had changed Bellatrix. True, Bellatrix changed on her own, but both she and Hermione knew that it was Hermione who had given her that chance to change.

Bella lowered her head, avoiding her lover's gaze now. Hermione inched even closer, reaching out and cupping Bella's chin with the same hand that had clenched and balled up in pain when Bellatrix had carved into the arm, and angled the older woman's face so that she was now looking at Hermione.

"Bella," Hermione started when the ebony haired woman's steel blue eyes were now looking at the younger witch, "I love you. You are not the same woman as you were before." Her voice became more serious as she spoke, "I've forgiven you, Bella. Now it's time for you to forgive yourself."

Hermione lifted her head, kissing Bellatrix's pale forehead and said in a serene and soothing tone, "You _have _changed. The fact that you have nightmares about torturing me and the fact that you believe what you did was monstrous is proof just how much you've changed. You have changed into the beautiful, kind woman you always were meant to be."

Seeing the stunned look on the former Death Eater's face, Hermione leaned in, holding Bellatrix's chin firmly still and kissed her on the lips this time, stroking her tongue against her lover's, and slowly released her hand from Bellatrix's face and wrapped both arms around Bella's nightdress clad body, keeping the older woman from escaping, and holding the former Death Eater to her own form.

Hermione parted from Bellatrix's lips and lowered her head to the older woman's neck, licking and nipping at the flesh there. Bellatrix's gasped rewarded Hermione's actions and the Gryffindor graduate smirked against her lover's skin. She was well aware of just how much Bellatrix loved having her throat nibbled at. She'd always claim that she didn't care either way, but the way she always reacted whenever her neck was touched and licked however, sang a different tune from her words, as well as the fact that she always eagerly said 'yes' when Hermione asked for approbation to lavish her throat with kisses.

Hermione's right hand traveled up till her fingers were tangled into the older woman's hair, tugging very gently and pulling the dark woman's head backwards, exposing more of her neck to Hermione. At Bella's gasp in response to her actions, Hermione said in a soothing tone, removing her mouth from her lover's neck for a moment, "Shh, easy, Bella, easy." Her brown eyes leveled with Bellatrix's. "Please, may I?" She asked, voice becoming a plea, begging for approval, "Please let me, Bella?"

Before Bellatrix could stop herself, she nodded. "Yes," She said, louder than she thought she would, "Do it." Hermione leaned down again and covered her lover's throat with kisses and licked along the nape and column of the pale body segment, teeth soon nibbling along there too.

Bellatrix mewled in pleasure and Hermione tightened her hold as she worshipped Bellatrix's neck and soon traveled one of her hands downwards to the older woman's left arm, unrolling the long black sleeve, revealing the other's scarred arm. As soon as Hermione did this, Bellatrix's eyes snapped open and her head raised, staring as Hermione pulled her mouth away from the other woman's neck and started lowering it to the former Death Eater's now revealed arm.

Noticing Bellatrix looking at her, Hermione tilted her head up, mouth a few inches from the vicious bites covering the dark witch's limb. "Bellatrix." Hermione whispered so softly that the pureblood was surprised that she even heard, "Please. May I? Please….."

Bellatrix sighed, nodding her permission to the younger woman. Hermione smiled, lowering her head more, tongue sliding slowly and tenderly along the bites on Bellatrix's arm, one by one, kindly and with attentive care. Bellatrix shivered a little. Hermione was always so loving and caring with her. What was more, she was so accepting…of everything about Bellatrix. Scars, insanity, brutality, no matter what, Hermione accepted it and loved the former Death Eater for it. These scars on the pureblood's arms, deep, jagged bites from the sharp, merciless fangs of rats that bit hard into her arms when they were looking for bits of flesh as a meal were no different. Hermione paid these marks with love, affection, attention and gentility, nibbling along the edges of the scars, licking them, sucking and kissing each and every one of them. Bellatrix let out a moan at a swell in her system from the combination of the sensations of what her lover was doing and the utter devotion the brunette showed her.

Once Hermione had thoroughly licked, nipped and kissed each of the bites on the pureblood's arm, she moved and her hands went to Bellatrix's other arm, pushing the other sleeve up, unveiling the other bite marks and various cuts from the sharp edges in Bellatrix's cell at Azkaban. Hermione leaned in anew and started kissing and sucking at these scars as well.

After these brown and red marks were treated the same way the others were, Hermione smiled, undressing Bella from the dark garments shrouding her upper torso, and sliding them off of her lover with the same amount of care she had used with the scarred limbs.

Eventually, Hermione got the top of Bellatrix's black nearly transparent nightgown off, shedding it to the head of the mattress, and she pulled Bellatrix's body closer, Hermione propped her lover up a bit so that Bellatrix's now bare breasts were arched and Hermione now had more access to them. As Bella's head lolled backwards, eyes closing as the sensations overtook her, a gasp was forced out when she felt Hermione's mouth on her right nipple, biting gently while sucking it. Hermione pressed her pelvis against Bellatrix's as she slid a hand up and cupped the same breast she was suckling. She bit down a little harder and squeezed softly. In reply, Bellatrix's hips bucked into Hermione's groin, clearly already heavily aroused.

Hermione smirked, removing her lips and teeth from Bellatrix's bosom. "Well that happened faster than I thought it would," she chuckled. Hermione forcefully pushed the former Death Eater so that the older woman's legs bended in contact to the mattress; the both of them falling down onto it, Hermione atop the older woman.

Bella's head turned to the side sharply as she gasped, feeling Hermione breath harshly against her erect nipples. It was only then that her sense took hold through all the arousal, passion, desire, love and longing. "Hermione, stop." Bella whimpered-clearly words that it took great effort for her to get out in her current state.

Hermione froze as she heard that, her tongue just an inch from her lover's other breast. She raised her eyes towards her lover. "Stop, Bella?" She asked, husky voice clearly confused, as her heart pounded, fear and apprehension seizing her at the aspect that Bellatrix was hurting or afraid, "Why? Am I hurting you?"

Bellatrix shook her head, barely able to speak the next words in her haze of lust, "No…no…no…..you can't do this….I tortured you. Please….."

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. She was in pain that Bellatrix was denying herself pleasure because she regretted what she had done, but at least it wasn't because she was harming her lover or had done something that the oldest Black sister didn't enjoy, or didn't want.

"Bella," Hermione said, voice lowering to a cooing sound, "You deserve happiness. The person that murdered Sirius and Dobby and tortured me and Neville's parents is not the same woman that I've made love to every night since the war ended.

"You became the way you were during the war out of necessity, because you thought that that was just how the world worked. You became that way because you were never once shown kindness before you met me. All you were taught was that you didn't deserve love. And that's just bullshit." Hermione's voice then became a purr as she lowered herself to Bellatrix's legs, "Forgive yourself."

Soon, Hermione's hands undid the dress part of Bellatrix's gown and slid the dark witch's garment off completely. Bellatrix told herself through her overwhelming stimuli to keep Hermione from her task, but was completely unsuccessful in carrying out the actions that should have been born of these thoughts. Hermione applied pressure lovingly to Bellatrix's left inner thigh with a gentle bite and Bellatrix forgot any plans for attempts to stop the brunette as a thrill of sexual desire ran through her.

Once the nightgown was on the cedar wood floor, leaving Bellatrix all bare, save for her underwear, Hermione pushed her lover's thighs further apart, and her eyes narrowed in satisfaction at the sight of Bellatrix already getting wet and the proof of her lover's pleasure was beginning to soak through the dark haired woman's undergarment.

Hermione nuzzled along the inside of Bellatrix's thigh as he said in a serious tone, "Bella, I'll ask permission again. This is your choice. Tell me to stop and I will. Give me permission and I'll worship you as you deserve." Those words sent shivers through Bellatrix, arousal immediately hitting her between the legs. Hermione's smirked; more than likely already knowing what choice her love would make. Bellatrix knew that Hermione deserved so much better than this, but knew her lover would choose no other. For some unfathomable reason, the Granger woman had chosen _her _and had _forgiven _her. Overtaken by this exuberant realization, all so called morals Bellatrix might have tried to have at the moment, went out the proverbial window and her head fell back against the silk clothed pillows, gasping out desperately as the mist of desire surged through her, "Please, Hermione...please, take me. Make love to me." She didn't have to look at Hermione to know that the muggle-born's smirk had widened at hearing her words. And when she felt three fingers slip underneath the elastic waistline of her ebony underwear and felt those three fingers insert themselves into her tight, warm entrance, the former Death Eater lost all semblance of strength to try and resist.

The blissful moan erupting from Bellatrix was all the encouragement Hermione needed. While her fingers moved expertly within Bella's core, thrusting further into it every now and then, causing the older woman's body to writhe in ecstasy, Hermione used her other hand to remove the undergarment entirely.

Bella's underwear was now around her ankles due to Hermione's fruitful efforts. Hermione's ministrations caused by her hand that was pleasuring Bellatrix were clearly lucrative, as Bellatrix's legs widened, back arching off the bed to the point her whole upper torso came off of the mattress itself in her throes of passion, long, elegant fingers gripping the sable sheets in an iron fisted hold.

Just when Bellatrix seemed to not be able to take it much longer, Hermione withdrew her fingers, withholding them and instead encasing both her arms around Bella's thighs. Her elbows parted, keeping them against Bella's knees and holding them open for her invasion.

Bella whimpered in protest to Hermione no longer touching her, and instead of proceeding to continue with what she had been doing with her hand, Hermione lowered her head and slowly licked her lover's center, the rough of her tongue stroking immediately against the most sensitive area between Bella's lower lips.

The scream that came out of Bellatrix almost broke Hermione's eardrums. Hermione tried not to smile in satisfaction, but it was a really, really hard feat to attempt. Then in a swift and lewd motion, Hermione's tongue was deep inside of Bellatrix, swirling within the dark woman's channel-at the same time moving her left arm to Bellatrix's lower torso, massaging the pad of her thumb against the former Death Eater's sensitive clit as tenderly as possible.

Bellatrix's pants and gasps soon followed these movements, and it wasn't long before her legs wrapped around Hermione's head and arm and she was bucking her hips harder and harder into the younger witch's mouth and hand.

Bellatrix closed her eyes and tried to grit her teeth together to prevent herself from crying out more. She whimpered behind her closed teeth as her body thrust upwards. The movements of Hermione's tongue and fingers continued, and Bella started thrashing as well as bucking her hips, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her body shook and both of her hands gripped the sheets, her fingernails digging into the soft material as she climaxed and her pleasure spilled into Hermione's mouth.

Bellatrix arched and stayed there for almost two minutes, before her body slowly lowered back to the bed, exhaustion completely taking over, her legs becoming like jelly as they flopped onto the bed, releasing their hold on Hermione.

Hermione licked a bit more, immaculately cleansing her lover of the liquid produced from the dark witch's pleasure. The enervated woman cried out from the licks and bucked her hips again. Once Hermione was done, she squirmed upwards on the mattress till she was lying next to her lover and snuggled next to the dark woman.

Bellatrix turned to Hermione, eyes appearing bleary, and tears began to form. "Hermione." She whimpered, crawling forward a few inches till she was back in the muggle-born's arms. She laid her head against Hermione's collarbone, tears dropping into the fabric of the younger woman's shirt.

Hermione had her right arm wound tightly around the former Death Eater, and her left set of fingers went through the other woman's dark curly hair, gently scratching her scalp.

"I love you, Hermione." Bellatrix breathed out against her lover's shoulder, "I'm so sorry, for everything I've done."

Hermione smirked, "Well, I should hope not. If you are then you feel sorry for getting into a relationship with me?"

Bellatrix, through her exhaustion, growled, giving her lover an annoyed stare, eliciting a chuckle from the brunette.

Hermione nodded, still smiling as she buried her face into the other witch's hair and announced, voice assuring, "I love you too, Bellatrix. And I told you. You're forgiven. You're forgiven for everything. I don't want to hear you call yourself a monster again. You are not a monster. You never have been a monster. Forgive yourself, my love. Accept what you've done and forgive it, because I already have."

Bellatrix was no longer just crying, she burst out sobbing into Hermione's bosom, grabbing her lover in a steel grip. Hermione nuzzled closer into Bellatrix and slowly she held the older woman until she felt the dark haired woman's movements cease and she knew that her lover had drifted off to sleep.

When Hermione was certain that the older woman was asleep, she smiled and placed a kiss on her lover's forehead and then rested her head on the woman's shoulder, closing her eyes and preparing to sleep, hoping to Merlin that her lover would be void of any nightmares for the rest of the evening. If not, she would be here always to take care of her and guard her. Bellatrix's protector.

**Corny I know. OOC, absolutely, one hundred percent. Erotic and loving? I should certainly hope so, and if so, then my work here is done. Constructive criticism is appreciated, but flames are not, so no flames. **

**Oh yes, and I have a question. Believe it or not I have never read the famous Bellamione fic: "Those gilded chains we wear." I've been seeing fan art for it, and am getting curious. Is it a good fic?**


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